The 2023 Winemakers Tank Guide
Everything You Need to Know About Tanks
Whether you are a seasoned winemaker, a novice cidermaker, or mixing ingredients for a new flavor of kombucha you can find all the information that you need here within the 2023 Tank Guide!
While there may not be such a thing as the best tank - as different applications call for different designs & features - this guide is our attempt to address one of the most common questions that we hear from our customers:
"Which Tank is the right tank fore me"?
It is our hope and our goal that the below information, and the corresponding links, provide you with the tools and the knowledge needed to make a decision as to which tank is best for your project(s) and to help you achieve your goals!
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VARIABLE CAPACITY (OPEN TOP) TANK
Variable capacity tanks, sometimes referred to as "Open Top" Tanks or "Floating Lid" Tanks, utilize a removable lid that floats on top of the tank's content/material - and an inflatable tube to seal the lid in place minimizes the exposure to oxygen and outside elements. The unique design of these Variable Capacity Tanks makes them perfect for small operations in which only one or two tanks will be used. These tanks are perfect for fermenting or aging a variety of materials and/or capacities.
CLOSED TOP TANKS
Closed Top Tanks are ideal for storing large quantities of material, as they can be filled-to-capacity and injected with inert gas & sealed, creating an oxygen-free environment for bulk aging.
When fermenting on solids (such as grape skins), it's important that the top of the tank is outfitted with either a dedicated CIP (Clean In Place) port and pump-over system (such as our Red Wine Tanks) or a mixed-use port to accommodate both a removable CIP arm & spray ball and pump-over sprinkler (such as our White Wine Tanks).
CONICAL BOTTOM TANKS
Conical Bottom Tanks, as the name suggests, feature a cone-shaped bottom that terminates at the tank's center. From there, a long discharge tube runs beneath the tank to its front, creating a Full Drain Port. The significance of this design is that any solids, lees, and other sediment, are trapped within this discharge tube, minimizing their exposure to the rest of the material within the tank. Due to this, Conical Bottom Tanks are sought after for the fermentation and aging of lighter products, such as white wine.
SLOPE (INCLINED) BOTTOM TANK
Unlike Conical Bottom Tanks, which are designed to separate and minimize the exposure between solids and fluid inside the tank, Slope Bottom Tanks help facilitate this interaction, making these tanks desirable to produce a more full-bodied products like red wine. The sloping bottom does, however, enable the separation of the two for racking of the liquid. By terminating just below the manway, or "clean-out", door, the sloped bottom makes cleaning out solids far easier than with a conical or flat bottom.
ROUND BOTTOM TANK
Round Bottom Tanks provide the best of both worlds. They feature a curved "dish-like" bottom, with a small "pocket"—which the Full Drain Port stems from—where sediment settles, reducing its exposure to white wine during fermentation (similar to a Conical Bottom). However, instead of terminating in the center of the tank, the round bottom slopes toward the front, terminating in the "pocket" beneath the manway, making it easier to remove solids when fermenting reds.
All Closed and Open Top Round Bottom Tanks (Jacketed & Non-Jacketed) are available up to 1500L now, with larger sizes available later this year.
FLAT BOTTOM TANK
Though they may not feature all of the "bells & whistles" of their Conical, Slope, or Round Bottom counterparts, Flat Bottom Tanks are still sought after by many specifically for their basic design. With a single drain port and inherently flat bottom, these tanks are great for mixing and are particularly useful in the production of kombucha. The lack of multiple ports and doors also means that there is a far wider range of sizes and dimensions that these tanks can be produced in.
MIXING TANK
Our Mixing Tanks are ideal for a myriad of industries—from spirits, wine, kombucha, & food production; to cosmetic blending and even geological research. Available in volumes from 500L to 2000L, all Mixing Tanks feature a round bottom with full drain port and ball valve, and are available with either a pallet base or wheeled base. Mixing Tanks can be outfitted with an detachable onboard mixer (shown in photo) or with a lower agitator port, like than of our Closed Top Tanks.
Optional features include racking port with ball valve, sample port with tap, level gauge with valve, sack support, and thermometer with thermowell.
BRITE & UNITANKS
In North America, Brite Tanks have long been the industry standard for carbonating and finishing any sparkling liquid, whether it be beer, cider, seltzer, etc. Featuring a carbonation port and stone, shadowless manway doors, top-mounted hops doors, internal CIP system with external piping and ports, and dual-zone cooling jackets with independent inlet and outlet ports for individual temperature control of each; our Brite Tanks are also outfitted with Racking Ports to ensure fluid-only transfers to your serving vessel, keg, filler, etc.
Unitanks eliminate the need to use two separate tanks—Fermenter and Brite Tank—during the brewing process. While maintaining the design and function of a Fermenter, our Unitanks incorporate the standard features found on our Brite Tanks, such as carbonation stone, dual-zone jackets, shadowless doors, spunding valve, etc. Unitanks are truly the all-in-one "multitool" for brewing and cider making.
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I.B.C. TANKS
IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) Tanks are intended to be used across a myriad of industries, capable of handling a wide range of products and applications. All of the IBC Tanks we carry are outfitted with a galvanized steel cage, round bottom with center drain port, ball valve, closed top with manway lid, top ports for CIP & PRV, AND sample port & valve. These IBC Tanks are completely customizable; so, if there is a configuration or option that you want that isn’t listed on our website, let us know and we can have it produced specifically for.
